Vaughn College’s Robotics Club was inspired by the arrival of advisor Brian Linhares to the Vex Robotics College Championship in Anaheim, California. So much so that Vaughn scored a win in its final match, leaving itself in position to qualify for Saturday’s elimination round.

“Brian arrived, and changed our karma,” said Robotics Club President Michael Wroblewski, after Vaughn concluded a day in which it won two of five matches and finished in 28th place. The top 24 teams will advance to Saturday’s elimination round.

Vaughn’s team did some tinkering with its primary robot Thursday night and it seemed to be a much more efficient machine on Friday. While some teams have emphasized complicated designs, Vaughn’s team opted for simplicity.

However, unlike other schools that duplicated its robots Vaughn opted for three unique designs to emphasize creativity in the design process. “You want the students to think creatively; to come up with different possibilities,” said Professor Khalid Mouaouya, who is accompanying the team.